By Sarah Light, staff writer

Questions about a possible conflict of interest for newly appointed Albert Lea Economic Development Agency executive director Dan Dorman were put to rest Wednesday with a decision at the Albert Lea Port Authority meeting.

The perceived conflict was between his new role as director and his role as a business owner. Dorman begins his new position June 1.

The Albert Lea Port Authority voted 6-1 Wednesday to approve the sale of three lots in Block 2 of the Bridgeport Third Addition to Rehnelt-Dorman Construction.

In April of 2005, Dorman and co-owner Kelvin Rehnelt purchased the first lot at the site in Block 2 of the Bridgeport Third Addition &8212; which is across from Northbridge Mall

&8212; to build storage units. They negotiated a first right of refusal and a purchase price of $62,500 for Lot 2 at that time.

In early 2007, the two men took the board up on that first right of refusal for the second lot and requested to purchase the land. They also requested a first right of refusal for lots 3 and 4 in case they needed them later.

The request to purchase Lot 2 at the price of $62,500 was approved at the April 5 meeting. The right of refusal for the other two lots was denied.

Around the same time, the Port Authority Board also selected Dorman as the new executive director. And for some, this created concern that there was a conflict of interest.

Dorman said he and Rehnelt had been planning on buying this piece for some time.

&8220;I think it&8217;s a fair deal, and I&8217;m trying to avoid any conflicts,&8221; Dorman said.

As a result of the questions raised, the board had a public hearing Wednesday to discuss the issue. Only one person from the public attended.

During discussion at the meeting, City Attorney Steve Schwab said that from a strictly legal approach, there&8217;s not a prohibitive conflict of interest. But, he said, &8220;just because it&8217;s legal doesn&8217;t mean you should do it.&8221;

The biggest concern, Schwab said, is just the appearance of impropriety. So, if the board decides to move forward with the sale, he would suggest some stricter guidelines such as requiring a two-thirds vote.

Albert Lea Economic Development Agency President Keith Fligge said this appearance of impropriety was the reason the public hearing was being held.

Current ALEDA Executive Director Paul Sparks said he thought in this situation the board has complied with both the spirit and letter of the statute by acknowledging there could be a perception of a problem.

After minimal additional discussion, the board voted on the issue.

Al Brooks, 6th Ward City Councilor was the only dissenting vote.

Dorman said he wished more people had come to the public hearing to make sure any additional questions that were floating around were resolved.